Belladonna
by CassandraaCaitlinn
Summary: There are no secrets that time does not reveal- the League knew as such when it came to Belladonna. For them she had meant to be dead- a long forgotten memory. But when she suddenly comes back into their lives, alive, they'll do anything to protect her. After all, she had been a well hidden secret from the team, just not for long. Oc insert for possible Season 3.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I'm back guys and with a new story that I feel really confident about considering that I have it planned a good amount into the future already :) Either way, I've become a big fan of Young Justice lately after binge watching the series and in all honeatlh I couldn't help but make an OC. This idea had been on my mind for a while now and while I was hesitant to do it at first considering I'm writing a book series at the moment and I should really pay more attention to that, I'm doing this instead. But I hope you enjoy and please comment and favorite the story. Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

 _Green eyes looked on curiously at the duo in front of her, one very familiar tall figure covered in darkness and a younger boy, close to her age staring right back. They were like light and dark to her, polar opposites. Batman was made for the darkness, it clung to him and embraced him, but_ _the slightly older boy was like the light to his dark, with a black mask covering his eyes and a brightly colored suit of green, red, and yellow standing out on his rather frail and skinny looking body. Was this really the boy wonder standing before her? The same one known for being Batman's sidekick and had saved dozens of people from the villains of Gotham?_

 _"Batman?" Robin questioned, looking curiously between his mentor and the unknown girl before him who looked a year or so younger than himself. "What's she doing here?"_

 _At the question, the Dark Knight looked down upon his protege- his son and withheld a small sigh. He wasn't exactly sure himself what she was doing here or what had been going on through his head when he had taken it upon himself to take care of the girl. But guilt had carried him to do the act, to take on the daughter of his old friend who had died recently and personally requested he do so had anything happen to him- a constant threat considering he was a hero, a well known one with enemies._

 _And just as he had feared, he had been killed in the act of duty, leaving behind a small nine year old who didn't seem like she could harm a fly and who he had decided to take in, not as a ward but rather to simply care for her in his absence. "She'll be staying with us for the time being, Dick." Or atleast until the other League members took their turns watching over her like agreed._

 _At the mention of his civilian name, the said boy knew he was serious and was in no threat of his identity being exposed to her. So instead he glanced at her curiously and took in her dark inky hair and light skin complexion. She was cute- he supposed- in an innocent way that made her seem almost angelic. He grinned slightly. "Well? You gonna say something or cat got your tong-"_

 _Feeling a rather small but strong grip suddenly on his chest, Dick wasn't prepared to suddenly be flipped into the air, rather measly considering the girl's limited strength but nonetheless impressive to the ten year old as he found himself staring up into the ceiling of the batcave. He let out a large grunt, looking up to the small figure and she towered over his body. "I don't appreciate being taunted."_

 _"I understand where you're coming from," Batman had begun, grabbing hold of the girl's shoulders as if fearing she may strike again but still looking highly amused as he looked at Dick, "but I would prefer if you wouldn't fling around my partner as such."_

 _"Is he really the boy wonder?" The girl had questioned just as the dark haired boy had begun to pick himself up. "He doesn't seem like much."_

 _Frowning, Dick noted she was rather blunt and felt his temper getting the best of him. "Like you should be talking!" He said, furrowing his eyebrows behind his mask. "I don't even know who you are."_

 _Her bright green eyes looked at him playfully at the question. "You're annoying- I don't need to tell you."_

 _For a moment Dick looked almost mortified, looking at the girl wide eyed through his mask and frowning. That had been their first meeting, and one of many along with other members of the League and their sidekicks._

 _The girl did always know how to make a memorable impression._

* * *

 **Mt. Justice**

 **July 20, 12:21 pm EDT**

Dick Grayson was no stranger to Mt. Justice- for him it had always been a second home when he could manage to escape from Batman and Gotham, a place where he could relax and be himself. He had always considered the place like a sanctuary at one point, somewhere he could bond with his friends and go on missions like it was the most normal thing to do. But things had changed. It had been a month since his last visit to the place- maybe two considering it had been blown up earlier before- and slightly shorter since he had last visited the team.

A month since he had taken a break from his work as leader and Wally's death.

Throughout the night he had been terrorized with nightmares of his best friend, and even had remembered the others he had lost, the wound of Wally's death still fresh. The weight of such was heavy on his chest that morning and he had not managed to get much sleep the night before- not specifically the best way to start off his first day back. Stepping through the zeta tube of Mt. Justice, the dark haired hero felt the nostalgia of his old base. He saw memories that were no longer there and the faint voice of his deceased friend, still ringing in his ear. Perhaps it had been too early to come back.

Fully suited up in his dark outfit and mask donned over his striking blue eyes, Dick Grayson no longer existed. Nightwing was in his place, the ex leader of his old team and an important part in it. For years he had loved the thrill, the rush of being someone else and having a new name- of fighting the crime of Gotham and then with a team saving the world. But now, he wasn't sure if he still did. Instead he found himself hiding from his second persona, barely putting on his suit or patrolling Bludhaven like before.

The loss had been affecting him more than he had liked to admit, and he had stubbornly come back to the base in hopes of pushing aside his feelings. It had been too long, like Batman had mentioned when he came to him, in need of assistance in an upcoming mission. Besides, after all, the team needed him.

Stepping foot into the newly renovated Mount Justice, Nightwing took his time to look around- to notice any changes that would have been missed by the naked eye. But instead he found none, and it seemed as if nothing had ever happened, that their fortitude had never been blown up and that they had taken residence into the Watchtower. At the time, it had been a privilege, an honor for them, something that the team had deserved and proven to their mentors, having accepted it immediately when offered to them after the final mission before he had left.

They had deserved it after all. He knew and so did the League, but from the last time he had visited- nearly two weeks ago- they had still been in the watchtower and plans of rebuilding Mt. Justice had just been mentioned. The watchtower was of course a privilege they had enjoyed, but the mountain had been their original home and the team had yet to give it up. It had been built in a matter of a week, and he had yet to come and see it, drowning himself in his work and upcoming college in only a month. Nightwing had been long forgotten by Dick himself for a good amount of the time.

Walking further in and seeing none of his team around, the tall male made his way throughout the base, towards where he knew they would be- the briefing room. It was after all the reason he had come back earlier than expected. A mission had come up that Batman had personally come to Dick for, in need of him being apart of it. He could never say no to him as it was and he would admit that a part of him had missed the others and the thrill of a good mission. His mind flashed back to the day before when the Dark Knight had come as Bruce to mention the mission to which he had agreed with slight hesitation. Throughout the month he had barely made time to see the team, only having Barbara, Artemis and Tim as occasional company when they would come to visit him. However, Bruce was the worst, checking up on him regularly like any overbearing father who didn't know how to show his emotions properly. His answer to dealing with it was practical stalking and Nightwing found it rather funny. Besides, in hindsight, he missed the action.

Making his way down the silent corridor, Nightwing could make make out the sound of voices and laughter, heading towards the noise. Like he had imagined, the rest of the team was in the briefing room, twelve of them in total as he took note that a certain Atlantian and blond were missing. Inside, Beastboy ran throughout the large room, Jaime chasing him in his civilian clothes looking annoyed despite the slight smile on his face. Static was watching the duo in amusement, every once in awhile catching hold of the object that Jaime wanted before throwing it to Kid Flash- the new kid flash- who taunted and laughed at their game.

Karen was with Mal sitting down on one of the couches, one arm around his girlfriend as she read a book on scientific formulas, the larger male paying attention to the tv in front of him. Conner and Megan were near them, trapped in their own personal bubble all while oblivious to a sulking Lagaan as he eyed their exchange. Tim and Cassie were training or what would've passed as training- with flirtatious comments and skin contact that lasted longer than usual for a fight, much to Nightwing's amusement. Batgirl was near them with her back to the opening, her ginger hair shining distinctively against her dark suit as her fingers worked like water against a hologram screen.

Everything seemed the same, just like he had left it despite a few new and missing faces. It didn't seem like he had been gone for a month straight and at the thought he felt something stir in him ever so slightly. For a moment he simply watched, content with taking in the moment and getting ready to face his team.

It didn't last long.

A gentle pressure had landed on his shoulder and out of reflex he had grabbed hold of it, turning swiftly to nothing- before his eyes had turned down and he was met with a shorter figure. Nightwing looked down into two very familiar brown eyes, the slight Asian descent obvious in the slant of them. Blond hair pulled into a ponytail was attached to a pretty face, full lips pulled back into a slight smirk. A tiger like mask was attached to her equally orange and black body suit, and body armor covered her lithe yet muscular form. Artemis smiled. "Nice to finally see you came around."

"You know I couldn't stay away for long." He said, dropping her arm and matching her smile with his own and he looked down at his friend. "It's good to see you though."

"Now don't start getting sappy on me Grayson. I just saw you a week ago." Artemis reminded him, nudging him slightly as he chuckled slightly. True to her word, she had just met up with him a week ago at a coffee shop near his house, and the week before, and the week before that also. They had seen each other throughout the past month more than ever before, an anchor to each other when the pain would get too hard, and the loss of Wally would seem to drown them too deep. If anyone could help them, it would be each other- the girlfriend and bestfriend to the deceased speedster.

Moving towards the door, the blond archer beckoned for Dick to follow with a tilt of her head as she walked through the entrance, Nightwing trailing. It was cool in the room, to help escape from the scorching July sun and at their arrival heads began to turn towards them. Cassie and Conner were the first to notice the duo, catching sight of the them and alerting the rest of the team as the blond haired supergirl greeted Nightwing, yelling out "boss" out of habit just as she slammed Tim down to the floor, long forgotten. Nightwing slightly winced in pain for the poor boy, quickly turning his attention to the teen as she all but flew towards him to greet the hero. "It's been forever since you last visited!"

Voices of agreement sounded through the air as the team began to make their way up to their former leader, all greeting him. Conner was one of the first, walking up to him with M'gann behind as he stuck out a hand to his friend. "It's been a while." The half kryptonian greeted, smiling at the relief of seeing the dark haired boy.

"Yeah," Nightwing said, "I've been busy but I'm back now." The hero said, letting go of his hand to greet the green Martin behind him with a hug.

"We've missed you." M'gann murmured fondly and Jaime who was the nearest next to her agreed.

"She's right amigo." He said shaking his head. "We started to think you had left the team."

"You know I would never abandon the team." Nightwing said, sounding distinctively upset. His eyes scanned the small crowd before him, taking notice of Bart in his Kid Flash costume as he made his way over to the group in an instant and grinned. "I told you he wouldn't. Nightwing would never do that." The time traveler stated offhandedly, nudging the tanned teen as Garfield laughed at the exchange.

The green skinned male smiled at Bart in amusement. "You're only saying that cause you knew he wouldn't."

"Eh what can I say?" The speedster shrugged, smirking almost smugly in an oh so Wally fashion. "Future perks, which I have to admit is so crash."

Robin looked at the trio. "That doesn't matter anymore." He said, standing beside his brother with a small smile and his arms crossed. Barbara was by his side. "At the very least he's back and the teams back together."

Nods of approval went throughout the group and for a moment Dick wanted to say that they were wrong, that there was still somebody missing but kept his mouth shut. Through the small crowd, his eyes met with Artemis's solemn ones as she stood near Karen and he could guess that she was thinking the same. Around him, he greeted the rest of the team, congratulating Static once again as a new member of the team and making his way through each member one by one.

It was only when he had believed that he had gotten through all of them that he found himself surprisingly wrong, staring at the face of his old friend Arsenal. He hadn't noticed the ginger earlier and guessed he had been off somewhere by himself as he stuck out a hand with a smile. "I didn't know you'd be here." He hadn't indeed. The last he had seen of his old friend was when he had kicked him off the team, only to see him back here with the others. Just what else had he missed while he was gone? Not that he minded having him back- if anything he was happy. He saw more of the other Roy than this one, having visited the baby often and catching up with him- like he had done before with this one before he had disappeared eight years ago. "I'm glad to see you."

Arsenal nodded, grabbing hold of the outstretched hand with his own- his good one- and smiling slightly. "I didn't expect you to be coming either though I suppose it's good to see an old face." This seemed unlikely. They had not been on the best of terms the last time they had seen one another. "I guess this mission is more important than I thought for you to be called in earlier from your break."

"I suppose so." Dick muttered, shooting Barbara who was near him a look that asked for explanation. Turning away from Arsenal as he made his way back to his spot from before, Nightwing looked to Batgirl in question. "What's he doing here?"

"I'm not exactly sure in all honesty." Barbara said, sighing as she glanced at the said person. They were further away from the others now, towards the entrance where she continued to play on the hologram. "He was called into the mission today without anyone knowing saying he would be needed- whatever that means."

"Who called him in?"

"I did."

At the sudden sound of the new voice throughout the room, the team began to quiet down at the appearance of Batman entering with Kaldur on his heels. The faint sound of the television sounded in the background and in an instant M'gann had shut it off with her telekinesis, beating Mal to it as he had just begun to grab the remote. The team of teens looked expectantly at the Dark Knight.

"I'm glad to see you're all here." The gruff voice started, and Nightwing imagined that if he could see his eyes, they would be trained on him as he said the statement. "The upcoming mission will be one that will require all of you to participate in some way to assure its success, one being Arsenal as he will be joining you all."

At the mention of such, a few eyes turned to the ginger in question who was sitting towards the back of the room, and further away from the others as they all began to huddle around the dark knight to hear the mission. Nightwing made his way towards the front of the group, looking towards his mentor and watching as the hologram Barbara had once been fiddling with was pulled towards him and Kaldur. Coordinates of a seemingly isolated jungle appeared before them and Nightwing took note that it was located in the country of Bialya, making eye contact with Tim who also noticed such.

Kaldur stepped forward. "Tonight's mission will be a covert operation, intent on kidnapping an important assassin of the Light." Bringing a dark arm up, the Atlantian swiped at the screen, a hologram of a girl of average height appearing. The girl stood staring forward, along with smaller photos surrounding her, all in action, a dark body suit hugging her slim yet curvaceous body and a dark hood covering her hair. A black mask finished the outfit, hiding the bottom half of her face as sharp eyes looked forward, thick eyelashes surrounding them. Aqualad turned his attention back to the team. "She goes by the name of Belladonna, a well known assassin wanted in over 83 countries and wanted for her hacking, stealing of information, and occasional assassination of influential politicians around the world."

"Sounds like she'll be fun to deal with." Mal muttered, arms crossed over his chest as Barbara agreed. "What's our objective for kidnapping her?"

"Information." Batman answered, narrowing his eyes behind the mask. "She's a well trusted agent for the Light and will know more than any other agent we could possibly get our hands on."

"And how do we know we can trust her?" Karen questioned, hands on her hips as she stood near her boyfriend. "I mean if she's as loyal as the others, how do we know she'll tell us the truth or even tell us anything?"

Nightwing already questioned the same point to himself. When Batman had first approached him about the mission, he hadn't told him much except that it was involving a covert kidnapping- something that the Justice League was never one for. Kidnapping for something that didn't exist in the League's vocabulary and Nightwing knew there was more to it, especially as Kaldur and Batman exchanged glances. He admitted to hating being out of the loop, but he only had himself to blame for having been gone so long.

Kaldur glanced at the team, eyes searching as they landed on Nightwing before turning back to the hologram. "You make a valid point that would be acceptable if Belladonna was truly who she seems she is." He paused at this, turning his attention back to the group. "However, this mission nor Belladonna is what it seems on the outside. In truth, Belladonna is a double agent that has been infiltrating the Light to gain Intel and keep a close eye on them for the League."

"A double agent?" Artemis questioned, and at the mention of such, a slight tension fell over the team. The last double agent had been Kaldur, and a secret hidden from the team by Nightwing, Aqualad, and Wally, causing the faked death of Artemis and a small amount of distrust to circle the team for a short period of time. No one seemed happy at the mention of such.

"Neptune's beard!" Lagann exclaimed, clenching his fist. "Another double agent? Haven't we had enough of that- of the lying? Why weren't we told about her before?"

"You are wrong Lagann." Kaldur said. "Belladonna's mission had been assigned to her a year before the start of the team. I had not even known of her existence until most recently as it was the League's decision to keep it hidden for her safety in case anyone found out of her identity- something they could not risk."

"He's right." Continue Batman, stepping forward so that he had their attention. "For years she has been keeping an eye on them and has helped on more than one occasion in the information she manages to give us when she could and their latest plans. However now with the sudden turmoil within the organization due to Savage's disappearance, it's too dangerous to allow her to stay. Which is why this mission is not a kidnapping but rather a rescue made to look in such a way that the Light will not question anything."

At the mention of such, the team stayed silent for a moment, Nightwing feeling his mind wrap around the objective. Beside him he could feel Barbara shifting, opening up her dark red lips. "Who is she?" She asked.

For a moment, Nightwing saw Kaldur hesitate, his light eyes flickering slightly over him once again and then to Arsenal and Barbara. The dark haired hero frowned. "At the moment the League has decided to withhold that information until you have recovered her. For now she will be simply known as Belladonna." He informed them, continuing before anyone else said anything. "Blue Beetle, Arsenal, Kid Flash, you will be Alpha with Nightwing leading you."

Nightwing and the other three nodded glancing at one another and smiling slightly besides Bart. Watching as the usual up beat teen stood still, Dick took notice of the slight downturn of his lips and the stiffness of his body. Raising an eyebrow, he turned his attention from the younger male to the remaining member of his team. Arsenal had remained towards the back of the room, having not shown he took notice of the information. But Dick knew him, and could tell he was paying as close attention just as everybody else. He smirked.

"Team Beta will consist of Miss Martian, Superboy, Tigress, and I." The Atlantian continued. "Gamma squad, you will be consisting of Guardian, Static, Beast Boy, Lagann, and Robin." Aqualad turned to the remaining members. "Batgirl, Wonder Girl, and Bumblebee you will be team Omega."

"Team Gamma again? Barnacles!" Lagann muttered, crossing his arms angrily.

"No need to get upset Lagann. Your part in your team will be just as important as the others in getting Belladonna out safely." Batman said, changing the hologram back again to the coordinates of the jungle from once before. "Alpha and Beta squad, you will be infiltrating an isolated jungle in the country of Bialya, under the reign of Queen Bee, a prominent member of the Light as all of you know. There we have been informed that there will be a shipment of nuclear missiles that will be used in nuclear war that Queen Bee plans on using against her neighbor country Qurxan due to their broken alliance. There you will disarm the shipment without causing any further damage or causing one of the warheads to go off. Through all the commotion will be when we put into plan the rescue of Belladonna."

"Team Gamma, you will be here, back at the base to keep track of the mission and give help when necessary or arrive as reinforcement if needed." He continued, then turning his head to the last three remaining girls. "Team Omega, you three along with Zatanna, and Rocket will be attending a Gala in the same country, hosted by Queen Bee herself during the same night of the mission. There you will be in disguise and will keep an eye on Queen Bee and distract the party when given the signal so that she will not be able to get to the location when the news reaches her. Is that clear?"

Nods of understanding and agreement sounded from the team, and Batman nodded, glancing back at Aqualad as they exchanged a silent look. Nightwing looked at the two of them. "And what about Belladonna? How are we supposed to get her through all the commotion without it seeming suspicious?"

"I'm glad you ask that Nightwing as this is where you will be needed." Aqualad said, turning his attention to dark haired eighteen year old. "In order to make this believable to the Light, we will need to fake her death. And to make it seem as realistic as possible, you will be the one to make the blow- quite literally. Due to the Light's knowledge of our plan from two months ago and Artemis's faked death, I cannot be the one to carry out the objective as it will make it suspicious if the Light is informed I was the one to take the final strike on her. Instead, you must actually be willing to injure her in order to get her to the spacecraft."

His fingers dragged across the screen of the hologram, zooming in till a clear image of the jungle was visible, a distinct cliff shown in the image. Kaldur pointed at the ledge. "You will pursue Belladonna in combat and in between she will allow you openings to strike a seemingly deadly blow. From then on you are to push her off the cliff, weather it seem accidental or purposeful to those around you, where miss Martian will be waiting in the Bio-ship to catch her fall."

"But that means-" Cassie began, looking from Kaldur to Nightwing slightly wide eyed.

"-I'll have to actually strike her to make it as realistic as possible." Nightwing finished, narrowing his eyes at his mentor and friend. "That's a risky gamble you're playing there. If things go bad, there's a possibility that I can inflict a life threatening wound to her if my aim is off or I get distracted."

"Which is why we have chosen you." Batman said. "You're the best at aim and we trust that you'll be able to strike at her without causing too much injury. And even if so, we have to take the ris-"

"But isn't there anything else we can do?"

Turning their attention to the one who voiced the question, Bart stood in front of the group, having made his way forward. There was a sudden look in his green eyes, one that looked something to paranoia, fear more likely in Nightwing's opinion. Hands clenched, and his mouth set straight, Bart looked at the two leaders, looking every bit defiant at the plan. Kaldur looked slightly started at the outburst, looking at the male questioningly. "What do you propose Kid Flash?"

"Anything- just anything but that. She-" He paused suddenly, bowing his head as if in shame. "In the future-"

"Bart." At the sound of his name, the speedster looked up begrudging to Batman, and Nightwing finally understood what had been bothering the teen ever since the mission had been mentioned. "Is this life threatening to the future? As in something you came back here in specific to change?"

Opening his mouth and shutting it closed, the face he was making would have been comical had it been in any other situation. But Nightwing could see the desperation in his eyes, and could tell it was a personal ambition of his to change whatever happened in the future concerning the mystery girl.

Watching as he set his mouth rigidly, Bart shook his head. "No, but-"

"But nothing, Bart." Batman said, making it all the more important by using the time travelers actual name. "You know the consequences of tampering with the future and while you helped save it from the world going to crumbles- that was your only objective. Unless this is something that will have a large reaction, then we can't risk changing it in case of unnecessary consequences."

Stopping, Batman turned to Kaldur, nodding his head and addressing the rest of the team while Bart kept his head down, looking every bit ashamed and upset. "Your mission will be in five hours. Be ready by then and Aqualad will brief you in on the details later."

With that, the Dark Knight had turned, making his way towards the entrance and leaving behind a silent team who all had different reactions. Nightwing had stepped away from the group, watching as they had dispatched and gone respectively to their rooms to get ready for the mission. Kaldur and Dick were the only ones left by then, and his blue eyes lingered on a certain speedster's back as he made his way out the room last. He turned to Kaldur. "You think it's for the best?"

"Kid Flash's reasons for wanting to change this mission are purely his own. Whatever happens in the future cannot be changed if it does not endanger anyone's life, especially Belladonna's." The Atlantian turned to Nightwing. "However for both the sake of the future and Belladonna, be precise with your aim my friend. It may very change the fate of this girl forever."

* * *

 ** _A/N: I'm not crazy about the chapter in all honesty but it's a start. In my opnion it feels forced and rather boring along with really rushed. However I'm trying to get to the better parts more faster and I can assure you that the next chapter things will begin to make more sense and begin to follow an actual story line._**

 ** _Either way please comment and favorite if you did happen to enjoy it :) thank you!_**


	2. Chapter 1

**A** **/N: I just** **want to thank everyone who reviews, favorited or followed my story** **so** **far. It may not be much but I it encouraged me to continue :)**

 **Reviews:**

 **Guest- I wanted to say thank you for voicing your opinion firstly and clear up a few things you pointed out. My oc wasn't adopted by Bruce but just taken in temporarily, as she will be going back forth between other members of the League everyone in awhile as Batman had mentioned.** **As for the fact that she was about 13 when she went undercover, you're right and I really don't think it's implausible or Mary Sueish considering that Dick was Robin at what 9 or 10? As well as a lot of characters in the DC universe who started becoming heroes at young ages so pretty much you're saying that it's implausible for them also when it isn't. And besides it's a Fanficton- not real. And lastly, you can't forget that Nightwing and Aqualad went behind everyone's back when they went undercover so it's obvious as to why they didn't know that someone else was already doing so. Also Aqualad has met my Oc on more than one occasion, just not Artemis, and it's only the Prologue so you can't expect for all that information to come out. But it will gradually so I hope this cleared everything up.**

 **Anonymous- Thank you for your review and I hope this chapter does justice and keeps you hooked!**

 ***** A quick note also that I'm not the best at writing action scenes which is all this chapter is so I hope I do some justice *****

* * *

 _Roy had never been one to fight girls. It wasn't ethical- moral- everything that went against him and his teachings from Green Arrow. But this was something new to him as the dark haired ten year old raced past him to deliver a kick aimed towards his head. He ducked, swinging his arms in front of him to block another assault of the skinny appendages, surprised at the amount of force behind them._

 _To the side he could make out his adopted father and mentor Oliver observing the fight with interested eyes, his mask long forgotten with the infamous Bat of Gotham by his side. Somewhere to the side he could make out Wally and Dick watching the fight as well, the duo looking rather smug as they had warned him that this girl was a force to be reckoned with- he had ignored it._

 _It wasn't until that moment that he realized what exactly they meant._

 _Feeling a well aimed leg hit his gut, the ginger haired male had experienced about enough, grabbing hold of her upturned leg and throwing her behind him. He looked back expecting her to be sprawled against the ground but to his surprise green eyes looked at him defiantly in amusement, her small body standing. He felt his mouth fall open when he took notice of his now missing yellow hat in her hands and behind them he heard Green Arrow laugh._

 _"I like her." Oliver smiled, directing the statement at Bruce. "I didn't know what to expect at first but she's definitely Oleander's kid."_

 _"Told you she'd whoop you." Dick taunted off to the side and Wally laughed at the statement just as the fourteen year old flushed angrily at the duo._

 _"Shut up!" He growled, narrowing his eyes. "I just went easy on her, that's it."_

 _But that didn't stop the infamous duo from their onslaught of taunting towards the oldest of their trio. The girl, who he had barely attempted remembering her name, watched the exchangement in amusement, making her way towards the male she had been staying with for the past month. Dick smiled at her when she came and Wally, who she had only met the week before put his arm around her. "Roy's upset cause he lost to you."_

 _"I would be too if I lost to a ten year old." She said jokingly just as Roy scoffed at her. She would fit in with them just nicely he decided at that moment, realizing she wasn't like the other girls who would've hesitated at their rough bantering._

 _To the side Green Arrow and Batman made their way to the children. Roy, who had his arms crossed against his chest looked up at the large hand his mentor put on his shoulder. "So Roy since you finally met Stella, how do you feel about her staying with us for a bit from time to time?"_

 _At the mention of such he looked at the younger girl. Stella, that was her name- now he remember, figuring it fit the green eyed girl well just from hearing it. The ginger scowled at the idea, shrugging and muttering a whatever as if it meant nothing. But he would admit he was interested and if he was going to se her more often that meant he could show her a piece of how he could really fight._ _Besides she didn't seem that bad and he had always wanted a little sister._

 _Not that he would admit it out loud._

* * *

Chapter One

Past Faces

* * *

 **Bialya**

 **July 20, 09:08 pm EDT**

Arsenal would never admit that he somewhat missed being in a team- that would go against his somewhat solo act ever since he had woken up a few months ago. It had and still was foreign to him, working alone, having grown used to having Green Arrow as his partner back when he was Speedy. And he would even admit to missing Dick and Wally- though he couldn't blame himself considering they had been the Troublesome Trio after all. And now one was gone and the remaining duo had grown apart due to his own stubbornness and a small fall out a few months back when he had joined the team.

Hell, his clone- the fake Roy- was even closer to Dick than the real him.

Landing on his feet, the ginger haired man squatted into a crouch, watching as the rest of the Alpha team landed beside him. Nightwing had landed in front of him, as quietly and swift as the blue bird symbol across his chest. Kid Flash, or rather the future kid as he never bothered to remember his name, appeared in an instant, a slight breeze passing by with his appearance. Ever since his slight outburst earlier he had been more or less quiet, something that wasn't common from what he could tell from the slight time observing- not that it was his problem. And lastly, he noticed Blue Beetle flying down to join them, having been the last one off the Bio-ship before team Beta flew off in camouflage, seemingly invisible in the night sky.

Before them, a large dense coverage of the jungle hid their location, allowing them to stay covert as the four of them watched a shipment of trucks making their way past them to a stop. They were at the edge of the jungle, a large cliff meeting towards the ocean hundreds of feet down. No one could survive such a drop- something they hoped the Light would realize when they put their plan into action.

Nightwing was in front of the small group, the closest to the foliage, crouching with a single fist held in the air as he waited for the signal- which Arsenal wasn't exactly sure was. Keeping his eyes on the targets, he felt his eyes drift back to Dick waiting for something before his eyes flickered back. There was a faint ripple near one of the trucks, gone before Roy actually got a good look, leaving behind something that he could barely make out.

A small device had now appeared on the truck, just as according to plan, flashing a barely noticeable red light before turning green only a few seconds later. A few of the other trucks before hand had a similar device, and he recognized it as the Nuclear Revisor, meant to disarm the warheads to be destroyed later on. Miss Martian had been given such a task considering her invisibility ability and he imagined the ripple had been her, the green girl flying around and placing the device on each truck.

 _Miss Martian to Nightwing_. He heard the voice of M'gann echo inside his head as he slightly winced, still not used to her telepathic ability. _All of the trucks have been marked with the Nuclear Revisor. We are set to go._

 _Affirmative, Miss Martian_ , Nightwing said, releasing the clenched fist in the air and swinging it to the right- their signal to advance. Moving forward, the group of four separated and Arsenal moved to his left, closer to the truck, shot a grappling hook from his metallic arm into one of the branches of a tree. He climbed up with the help of the thick line and at the top he glanced down at the large clearing, making out twelve trucks in total and large amount of guards ready at action. The clearing was rather large, dirt covering the ground as it seemed like there was nothing else despite Arsenal knowing differently. Beneath the cliff would be a base of operations to store the nuclear warheads until they were put to use, and he was sure that besides the men already guarding the trucks outside there were far more below them ready to assist when they planned their surprise attack.

In the middle of the clearing, he could make out a distinctive male in a dark trench coat, the hood of the clothing covering his head as unhealthy skin peeked through. Arsenal recognized him as Queen Bee's right hand man Psimon who possessed a similar power to the Martian telepathic wise. Shimmer and the Terror twins were there as well just as the mission had disclosed and Arsenal watched as Superboy and Aqualad disguised as guards blended in with a group of suited men, the two guards they had taken the suits from knocked out behind a truck somewhere.

A shout was heard from one of the men, and Arsenal took that as his signal to proceed as Aqualad and Supeboy jumped into action themselves, ripping off their masks and attacking the closest guards next to them. With the plan in motion, Arsenal took off from the tree, landing somewhat in the clearing and knocking out a guard who aimed a gun at him. Stepping to the side, his metallic arm shifted to a gun of his own, placing an aim at two guards and knocking them back with a red blast. Kid Flash and Blue Beetle had already made their entrance along side him, and Nightwing was further across the clearing, holding against three guards. Team Beta was there as well scattered across the area, and Arsenal who got distracted, noticed as Tigress disarmed a guard behind him who had been ready to attack him. Swallowing his own pride, he nodded his head in gratitude as the girl returned it.

"You idiots!" Psimon had yelled, stopping Bart in his tracks as he skidding across the ground and pointed wildly at the man around him. "Capture them and make sure not one of them escapes!"

Turning as if to run, the pale man had only stopped at the sight of M'gnn in front of him as Superboy to her side fought against one of the Terror twins who didn't seem too happy in seeing him. Aqualad was busy himself, facing against the female one of the twins and having slight difficulty with her strength, Blue Beetle against the orange haired female a little ways away. The ginger aimed another blast at one of the dark clad men, and kicked another only for two more to come his way. Reinforcements had already begun to make their way up from below them and Arsenal ducked when a blast of energy whizzed by him, enjoying the slight rush. It had been a while since his last mission, the last one being when he had been kicked off the team courtesy of Nightwing.

He enjoyed the action, as he aimed a blast at three men in a row, grunts accompanying their fall into the dirt covered ground. It wasn't long until another got the upper hand on him, pulling out a knife and tackeling him as they fought for dominance only to pause slightly at Artemis shouting at him. At first he couldn't understand her or hear her, rather hard to do so considering the current situation along with the fact that he was wresting with someone. Pushing the male back so that he stumbled, Arsenal kicked him away from himself and shot a red beam at the guard as he heard the blond's voice in his head now shouting to the point it hurt. _Behind you!_

But it was too late, and Roy found himself knocked over, a solid foot meeting his face as he stumbled. Regaining his balance took a moment and he barely missed a blast from a gun to his side before he aimed blindly around him.

Before him a silhouette of a hooded figure stood in front of him, the darkness around them making it almost difficult to make them out as they blended in due to their skin tight suit. A utility belt wrapped around the seemingly feminine waist and more weapons strapped to her body stood out to his masked eyes. A black mask covered the bottom of her face and startling violet eyes that could not have been seen on the hologram earlier stared back at him as she ran at him. _Guys_ , Roy found himself calling, _I think I found the target._

Dodging a powerful kick, Arsenal moved again, throwing a punch that she missed. _Do not pursue, Arsenal._ Aqualad said, his voice echoing in the ginger's head. _Leave Belladonna to Nightwing._

 _Yeah well it's pretty_ _tough considering it seems like she's tr_ _ying to kill me_. He grit out, grabbing her arm and throwing her over him, shooting a blast at her that she dodged. _Isn't she supposed to be going with the plan?_

 _She_ is _going with_ _the plan._ Nightwing seemed to emphasize. _She has to make it as believable as she can so that no one will question anything._ Arsenal glanced ever so slightly at the hero in question who had gotten close to him in the fray as he helped Aqualad take down Tuppence, shooting a shock of electricity through her as she fell like a tree.

Frowning at the fact, the ginger supposed there was no reason to hold back like he had thought before, considering the girl sure as hell wasn't as she threw one of the many knives across her body at him. Belladonna had grabbed onto his arm just as he was ready to shoot once again, aiming it towards Blue Beetle not too far away right before flipping him. Distracted with his own opponents, the Hispanic teen had been too late in realizing the blast aimed at him, skidding against the ground from the impact. Getting up the hero glared at the ginger before rolling across the ground to avoid a beam coming his way. _What the hell, Arsenal?_

 _Not my fault!_ He retorted back as the violet eyed girl threw a dark sphere his way, running from the familiar weapon just as it exploded, throwing him off balance. Arsenal growled in annoyance- he just had to get the world class assassin who was trying to kill him, didn't he? Wasn't she supposed to be making this easy? Climbing back onto his feet, his eyes widened as Belladonna came jumping through the smoke of the explosion at him, landing on his shoulders and attempting to take him down to the ground.

Grabbing onto the the girl's legs, he pulled her off with a yell, throwing her to the side only for his arm to spark up just as he attempted aiming a blast at her. He looked down to find a chip on it, having not realized she managed to put in on him as he ripped the device off. Ready to aim another blast, he paused just as the metallic limb malfunctioned and stopped all together with a burst of electricity, charring the metal much to his chagrin. "Oh sh-" He started, skidding back as he dodged a series of limbs attacking him. Belladonna had lifted a leg to aim at his head, and Roy responded to such, raising an arm to block it only for the girl to stop halfway. She brought her leg down swiftly and grabbed hold of his arms so suddenly he hesitated too soon as he saw what she planned, flipping his limbs behind him kickeding under his feet. He gave way under his weight as his eyes widened at the move and he felt himself slowly coliding with the ground with the female on top, her elbow digging into the back is his neck.

Attempting to get over the surprise, he pushed off the ground quickly as he shook off the assassin, getting his bearings together as he stood up shakily. Feeling shaken up for reasons he could barely explain, he barely missed it when he turned and saw the same violet eyes coming at him. He was too late and feeling his body being kicked back he could see the amusement circling in the female's eyes as he collided with a body behind him.

Groaning, Roy felt himself being pushed off of the figure, recognizing Dick's voice as he shouted at him in his head. He could hear a blast go off around them, and he felt himself pulled away, the momentum bringing him back to his feet. Not that it mattered at the moment as his mind kept rewinding, thinking back to the girl and looking around to see if he could make her out. But she was gone, darting through the bodies of fighting figures. The move has been nothing fancy, a simple diversion to distract him from her real motive of kicking out from under him. Not many people used moves like that however, besides maybe him and Dick who he had showed such moves to, but this one had been different- had had known that move.

That was _his_ move.

The familiar glint of amusement he saw in those eyes continued to circle in his mind as he put it together.

* * *

Nightwing glanced at the group of men surrounding both him and Arsenal, swords and guns ready at use as the duo stood back to back. For a moment, Dick noticed that the ginger looked slightly out of it, though he supposed that was just a side affect from the blow he had just taken. He glanced down at the metallic hand that was now black instead of silver. "That thing still work?"

"Probably not," Roy grinned despite the fact that it did not match the tone of his voice, "but I can thank Belladonna for that later on I guess."

"Try not to take it to heart." Dick joked, taking out his escrima sticks and placing them in front of him before moving forward to attack. He swiped at one of the guards, meeting in collision with its own sword as he pushed on him and aimed a kick to his side and using the force to throw a second one to his face as he fell back. Behind him, Arsenal had grabbed a small grenade from his belt and thrown it at a group of men before them as he grabbed another coming up behind him in a headlock. Their eyes met for a moment and nostalgia had suddenly fillled the dark haired hero.

Arsenal's voice sounded from behind him as they came back to back again. "Can I ask you something?"

Dick grunted as he kicked a guard down. " _Now?_ "

But Arsenal seemed insistent on ignoring the tone of his question, asking either way. "What do you think about that Belladonna girl?"

Nightwing rose a hidden eyebrow at the question- what had brought that up? "Not sure. Haven't had the pleasure of being her opponent yet but from the toll you took I'm sure she's wonderful." Behind him he heard the ginger scoff and Dick smirked, throwing a Wing- Ding ***** at one of the guards as it embedded in his suit and exploded with a gas. He kicked another and collided with the next one, their sword clashing with his escrima sticks. He glanced at Roy slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"She seems familiar." Was the simple answer he provided, dodging a sword that slashed at him and punching the male.

"How," he managed out, pausing with a yell as he missed a beam shot at him before continuing, "so?"

For a moment there was no reply and Dick twisted to throw a guard over his back and onto the dirt covered terrain, looking at Arsenal to see the male preoccupied, a thoughtful look on his face. And then, "I'm not sure. You know what I mean?"

Dick did not know but he rejected the thought. "I have no idea what you're taking about." The eighteen year old said dryly.

"There was a move." At this, Dick found himself paying more attention as he jumped on a guard and used the momentum to spin slightly in the air as he aimed a powerful kick at another. "She- Belladonna did a move that I made, that I showed you and Wally and-"

"So?" Nightwing found himself bitting out, striking the guard in front of him with more force than he had originally intended. They were treading into a dangerous topic for the dark haired hero, something Roy should know when it came to mentioning their deceased friend- nonetheless her name. Speaking it was like taboo for _all_ of them. "It's a coincidence."

Arsenal let out an agrivated sigh as he was kicked to the ground and jumped to his feet in an instant. "I don't know Di- Nightwing. That was one of my first moves I made up- it was one of the ones I showed you guys during our first years as Protégés and she had done it perfectly like I had made it- step by step."

"What exactly are you trying to get at Arsenal?" Nightwing asked, narrowing his eyes as his head spun to look at the said male, distracted to the point a knife slashed his arm. Dick turned, raising his escrism sticks in an arcdownward to push back the male.

"I-"

"She had green eyes- not purple."

"Genetic engineering."

He could barely believe his ears. "She died in front of us Roy!"

Arsenal winced at the reminder of such- he had not been been there however, the other Roy had as he had already been missing by that point and replaced by the clone. When he had woken up, eight years later, the shock of hearing such had almost been too much for him and in a way she wasn't dead to him. He had no memory of such, there for was no proof for him, and here he had this girl who knew his moves. That was no coincidence to him.

"You mean like Jason?" He said, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "Last I checked hes still alive."

Pausing wide eyed, Nightwing looked back at the male beside him so fast he worried he would get whiplash. The situation on Jason had been secret, something Bataman and him had learned of a year earlier as a rumor when a man wearing a red hood had gone on a rampage and killed 83 people. It had not been a definite, after all he had died in Batman's arms, but they had been investigating into it for the past year or so with not much of a lead. He twisted away from another sword and opened his mouth before Arsenal beat him to the punch. "You should really update the fire wall on the bat computer." He said, banging his hand on his metallic one just as it released a red beam. He grinned, glad it was working again. "I may not be as good as you or Robin but I'm still pretty good at hacking. How do you think I've been surviving on my own so far?"

Nightwing stayed shut at that, kicking back a guard in front of him and making his way through the opening with Arsenal guarding his back. The ginger aimed a beam at a guard in front of them as he began making his way opposite of Dick. "Listen I'm not saying it's her, but I don't believe in coincidences."

And then he had been gone, the hero looking back at the spot Arsenal had just been in a moment ago, narrowing his eyes. She had been filling his dreams as of more recently due to Wally's death, along with his parent's and Jason's, and Nightwing had been torments from them. He clenched his jaw at Roy's thoughts.

 _Nightwing,_ he heard Superboy call through the mind link, _a little help here._

At the mention of such, Nightwing turned his attention from the men attacking, grabbing an arm as one pulled out a gun and twisted it behind his back. He glanced at Superboy, who was across the clearing towards the cliff as planned, deflecting a knife aimed at him by none other than their target and Roy's topic of conversation only a moment ago. The Kryptonian had flung her away, only for her to land on her feet and defend against his fists. Tommy was on the floor passed out with a metallic collar around his thick neck near them and him and Aqualad had taken down his sister not too long. He supposed the others were in a similiar position.

He noticed the dark haired teen was seemingly holding back ever so slightly and despite this Belladonna was holding up quite well, not that he was specifically surprised. He aimed an escrima stick at one of the men in front of him, knocking him out and side stepping another only to flip him over his back. Another two came at him. _A little busy at the moment,_ he managed to grit out. _Give me some time._

But time was running out and he knew that himself, kicking the man in front of him, only for the other two around him to be suddenly knocked to the floor. Glancing up, he took notice of the yellow Kid Flash uniform that ran past him, away and over to Artemis and Roy who he also assisted. Nightwing looked back to the fight between Superboy and Belladonna, running over to them.

 _Miss Martian,_ he called through the mind link, _Abort your current status and make your way to the Bio-ship to continue the plan in motion._

 _Acknowledged._ He heard the Martian's voice in his head.

In front of him, he slid past a guard and pulled him down into his knees as he fell to the ground, the others around him in their own fight. He saw the girl take notice of him, a gleam in her eyes, and going with the plan he saw her pull out the weapon before he had a chance to stop her, coming up behind her to throw off her aim. The bullet trailed through the air from the gun she had taken out, and Superboy was too slow, moving and barely missing it as it imbedded into his shoulder. Yelling out in pain, the protege fell to the floor with a thud as the kryptonian laced bullet took its toll.

Nightwing glanced at his fallen friend, about to make his way over to him before a well aimed knife flew through the air and into the foliage behind him. Belladonna stood in front of him, violet eyes trained on him as she made her way to him in an offensive attack. They were closer to the edge by now, and he deflected a powerful kick to his side, taking out his escrima sticks once again and swiping at her head.

The two of them teetered at the edge of the cliff, twirling in a dangerous dance as if on a tightrope. She was fluid in her movements, as if like water, and she was strong, more so than her had expected- worthy of her well known name. He thought back to the conversation with Aqualad earlier, his words echoing in his mind as he dodged a swipe of her knife.

 _"Nightwing, you must be careful when facing Belladona."_

 _Dick turned to Kaldur at the statement. "While I do not doubt your capabilities, I have met her on more than one occasion while I also infiltrated the Light and she will not be remorseful despite being on the same side as you. She is an assassin and will make the fight as believable as possible to make sure she gets out of there, even injuring the team."_

 _Nightwing chucked dryly. "I don't doubt it but mentioning such, it would have been a good amount of information to have known that before the four of us had planned that mission secretly." There seemed to be something more to the statement._

 _"You are right." Kaldur agreed. "However that was our own fault for doing such behind everyones backs. It may have changed a good amount of things if we had known."_

 _At that they both silenced, knowing full well what he had meant. If it hadn't been for that mission, Artemis and Wally would have probably still been in retirement and Wally may have still been alive._

 _Maybe._

 _Kaldur cleared his throat. "Despite that, it was also my fault for not realizing such. On the occasions that I had met her or worked along side her, she was rather quiet, stranger with how she she acted with me compared to the others." He frowned. "I had not any idea she could be a double agent. I had even been oblivious to her fighting style that was similar to many of the League members. I should have realized such."_

Dodging a punch, Nightwing nearly missed a kick aimed at his side, the diversion move seeming eerily familiar. Aiming an ecrisma stick, he knocked her back a few steps, only for her to come forward again as she sweeped him from under his legs, landing on top of him and she brought a knife down. Moving his head, he grinned slightly at the masked girl, white teeth showing in the dark. "Nice try." He smirked, bringing his legs up to wrap around her neck as he pulled her down with a grunt of pain escaping her lips.

Making his way to his feet, Nightwing glanced at Belladonna as she did the same, moving towards him and elbowing his face. Twisting, he turned so that his back faced hers, and grabbing hold of her masked clad face, he pulled her over his shoulder, throwing her across the dirt as she rolled, her mask coming off, barely noticeable as she quickly gained her way to her feet.

With her back turned to him, Dick saw the opportunity as he glanced slightly. The team was overpowering the others, and the reinforcements were dwindling with just enough to catch sight of their fight if they glanced their way- enough witnesses to it.

Grabbing a Wing- Ding from his utility belt swiftly, Nightwing took a slight breath as he aimed. If he took it while her back was turned, he could aim it into her back, nothing too fatal but nonetheless painful- he should know.

 _"She knows she'll be injured in the process?" Nightwing had asked Kaldur earlier that day, observing her statistics and vital points on a hologram in front of them. They had still been in the briefing room, talking over the mission and finishing up the details._

 _"Yes she does. This is not the first time she has had to do such given her situation and she's been through worst." Kaldur paused. "She will be giving you openings throughout the fight as this is not the first time she has faked her death."_

In one fluid motion, he had begun to let the weapon leave his finger tips, the girl's face turning ever so slightly as her side profile came into his view with her back still turned to him. And suddenly he had stumbled.

"Don't!" From the side, Nightwing felt himself fall, a body tackeling him as he fell to the dirt with the persons ginger hair covering his sight. His aim has been taken off track from the blow and he watched as Belldonna turned to see the commotion as the weapon imbedded itself into the girl's skin- right in her chest.

Violet eyes widened, and Nightwing felt himself still as he took in the girl's face for the first time.

 _"Who is she Kaldur?" He had found himself asking while they were still alone, curiosity getting the better of him as Kaldur turned to him._

 _"You and the others have no need to know, Dick." The white haired teen responded, laying a hand on his friends shoulder. "You don't know her and niether do I. It is my first time having heard of her name in my_ life."

He had lied.

He had trusted him, told him of _her_ at his lowest of times when he was drowning in her and the other's memories- that had not been his first time hearing of her name, the name he had hidden from him. She was not always in his head- hell he barely thought of her, but at times she came like a sudden breeaze and there was no forgetting her.

He looked at the face- the face that was so different yet so familiar. She was supposed to have green eyes, be a small twelve year old who had died too young. Because of him and for a moment he wasn't even sure it was her.

The person- Bart- who had tackled into him had begun to make his way off of Nightwing to make it to the mystery girl, but for once the older hero was faster than the speedster, pushing him off as he ran to the teetering figure who had already begun to tilt over the edge.

Reaching out his hands, his fingers met air, a single name for a long forgotten girl escaping his lips. "Stella!"

And his deceased friend fell off the cliff.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is rather rushed again so I'm sorry but I really need to do so to help get to the actual plot which will be revealed in the next chapter. I can assure you by then everything will come together and make sense as to who Stella is and what's her lead in the plot so please bear with me.**

 *** A Wing- Ding is the actual name of Nigtwing's version of a batarang so that's just some small trivia in case you didn't know and were curious as to what it is considering it's weird and funny name**

 **Please review, favorite, or follow. The smallest of things mean a lot of me and motivate me to continue writing! Thank you :)**


	3. Extra Chapter

**A/N- Hi everyone! I just want to say Thankyou for all the generous reviews and follows. Sadly however this is not Chapter 3 as it is going take longer to come out but this is an extra chapter for all of you. It takes place after the team gets Stella after the mission is completed and its from different people's point of view on the situation such as Roy, the Justice League's input on the situation and Nightwing's reaction. It's not specifically important to the story line or needed for it to progress but I thought it would be fun to see what happened in certain areas that the story line does not cover.**

 **If anything, think of them as mini drabbles that will correspond with the next chapter- think of them as foreshadowing into Chapter 3.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Extra Chapter

* * *

 **Washington, D.C.**

 **July 20, 10:58 pm EDT**

Roy Harper held the young child in his arms, his daughter Lian as he bounced the barely one year old on his knee while she giggled. A gentle smile had spread across his face at the sight of the baby's bright expression and Roy took the child and gently began to pat her back in hopes of burping her. He was still new to the whole father idea and while it wasn't something he had expected, in the end he had been more than happy to call the young girl his own.

Even when she tended to spit up while with him. Which just happened to be now as his red shirt reeked of vomit while he had burped her, grimacing at the smell.

"Having trouble there?" Roy looked up at the sudden voice that interrupted him, glancing at Jade while she smirked at the duo, making her way to him in silent strides. "I can take her if you want."

"It's fine." The ginger said, glancing at Jade ever so slightly appreciately. "It's my turn and besides you should be resting."

And resting she should be. Having just come back from a twenty four hour mission while Roy had stayed back to take care of Lian, he could only imagine how tired the woman was.

She was a good mother, he would give her that, though sometimes a little too clingy to their daughter considering the amount of times she would take the one year old with them on missions. It was the type of compassion and potential he had scene in her when he had started getting to know her better- the reason he supposed why he had married her. Love was too deep of a word to describe the relationship for the two of them. He did have feelings for her but he was torn, even to this day when they had finally moved in together and acted more like an actually married couple and less like enemies trying to kill each other.

Still to this day Jade took a good amount of missions that she could get her hands on, a steady income for the family while Roy himself did his own work and occasionally helped out the League when they called. It wasn't the normal lifestyle he had always imagined at one point but he was content enough- he wouldn't change it he supposed.

"Don't try being so tough, Speedy." Jade said, using his old alter ago as a small jab against him. "You don't have to impress me anymore.

Roy smirked, letting go of Lian as the dark haired girl took their daughter out of his arms. "Who said I was trying to impress you?"

"Don't try playing yourself." Jade's voice sounded playful. "Now get off that shirt, you stink."

Their relationship had never been easy. There had been plenty of fights and arguments, more so before, but he would admit that he was glad to be with her. And he knew Jade was too, even if she didn't admit it. He smiled at his wife condescendingly. "I bet you'd like that."

"Not with that smell."

Taking her advice, the twenty three year old made his way to their shared bedroom, pausing only slightly when his cell began to ring in his pocket. Reaching into the denim material, Roy looked down at the smart phone in his hands, a familiar name crossing the screen as he furrowed his eyebrows. Swiping the phone to answer, he held it to his ear. "Ollie." He said greeting his old mentor as he felt him himself lightening up at the older man's voice.

"Hey Roy." The said man paused at the tone of Green Arrow's voice, alarms going off in his head.

"What happened?" He found himself asking, making his way into his closet and glancing at his Red Arrow outfit as he grabbed a random shirt- he may very well need to suit up tonight.

A light chuckle was heard from the other side of the line. "You know me too well Roy."

Oliver was stalling that much was obvious to the clone as he felt himself growing all the more anxious. He would only try one of these tricks when he was worried about telling him something. The ex protege frowned. "Cut to the chase Oliver. What's going on?"

"Do you mind if we talk?"

"Sure." Roy responded. "What's this about?"

"Not over the phone Roy." Green Arrow said himself, sounded slightly frustrated. "In person. I'm already here- in D.C.- a block away from your apartment to the North of the city. Can you meet up with me?"

Roy looked down at the clock on the bedside table, raising his eyebrow. "It's pretty much eleven Ollie." But then again Green Arrow would never come at such a time unles it was important. "Does it have to be now?"

He could hear the finalization in his mentor's voice. "It's important Roy." There was a pause. "It's about _her."_

In front of him, Jade walked in with Lian in her arms, walking to the crib in the corner of the room and lying the small girl gently in it. She looked curiously to Roy as he suddenly stiffened, the sensitive topic making his frown harden as he recognized who he meant. He would never forget her name- it was just simply taboo almost to mention it in front of him and the others. "What about her?"

"It's best for me to tell say this in person-"

"Say it Arrow." His voice had hardened. "What about Stella?"

There was another pause on the other side of the line and Roy felt his head spinning, ignoring Jade's gaze as his head thought of the worst case scenario. Had someone dug up her grave as a ploy against the League? Against her father? The possibilities ran endlessly through his mind until he heard the voice on the other end of the phone speak again.

"She's alive, Roy." He said his name as if to make sure his head stood on right after the news. "The team has her, she's-

"Where is she?"

For a moment Oliver lost his train of though momentarily at the question. He had expected the young male to yell, scream, blame him and the others all while demanding to know what happened. Not for such a direct question. Although Roy on the other end felt his chest compressing painfully as he tried to keep himself together. If this was true- which he knew it was- he simply had to see it for himself. Questions could come later.

The Ginger haired male asked the question again. "Where is she Arrow?

"Like I said, it's best that you meet up with me first. I need to ex-" The hero had begun, only for his ex protege's harsh voice to cut him off once again.

I don't need to hear shit from you of all people." Oliver almost smiled- there went the reaction he was expecting. "I don't know what or how this happened but I sure as hell don't need to hear anything out of your mouth. How long have you even known?"

"Years now Roy." Green arrow answered, sounded all the more tired and somewhat guilty as he spoke. "You have to let me explain."

But the younger male didn't seem to take the reason, seemingly ignoring it on purpose. "Did she even die at all?"

"Roy-"

"No. Who else knew-"

"Come to my coordinates- I'm sending them now." Oliver paused. "I'll explain when you get here."

And then the call had been clicked off, and Roy felt himself take a deep breath, the urge to throw the phone incredibly apparent at the moment. Stella was alive. The statement kept whirling inside the archer's head, his body moving automatically as he grabbed his jacket from where he had thrown it, the new shirt he had never changed into left forgotten.

Jade looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Emergency mission?"

"Something like that." Roy mumbled and he could tell that Jade knows he's lying as he made his way out of the bedroom and into the living room where the entrance is. Her dark eyes stay on his figure and he tells himself it's because of her penetrating gaze that he's nervous- not because of the recent information he had just learned.

"What happened Roy?" At the mention of his name, the ginger haired male looked at Jade just as he had reached for the front door, prying it open and pausing. "Stella's alive.

A flash of recognition appeared in the assassin's dark eyes just as quickly as it was masked, remembering the name from the few times he had mentioned the deceased girl. Or thought deceased. But Roy paid no mind to her, striding out the door with only a last glance as he closed it behind him, stalking out the building with a stained shirt and the smell of vomit trailing behind him.

* * *

 **The Watch Tower**

 **July 20, 10:10 pm EDT**

"The mission's been compromised." Batman stated, having just gotten back from contacting the team when they had called to him to give him a briefing.

Wonder Woman and the others around her looked startled. "By who?"

"Kid Flash." Bruce thought back to earlier that day, at the sudden outburst the time traveler had caused. He should've expected Bart to end up letting his personal feelings get in the way of the mission from the way he had vehemently wanted a new plan. The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes. "They completed the mission and got Belladonna out but he interfered during the most important step of the plan."

"Faking her death." Superman had said, making it sound more like a statement as he crossed his arms. "What happened?"

Batman shook his head slightly at the question. "I'm not sure. It was chaotic on the bio-ship but from what I understand she's more injured than was planned due to his interference."

At the mention of such, unease clouded the room, the five Justice League members looking at eachother seriously. There was no way to tell how bad Belladonna was injured and while she would usually be okay with more minor or slightly serious wounds, she wasn't invincible. And they sure didn't want her to be more hurt than she had already been throughout the years- that would only worsen the guilt.

They had willingly sent her back into the Light's nest despite the danger.

She had gone through years of being there, of shedding blood and being used as a puppet by the orginization. At times, seperately, they questioned if they had made the right decision back then. Back when they had found her- found out she was alive and hid the fact from those around her despite the League.

They all wondered it, but would never question it out loud.

"How long until they arrive back at Mt. Justice?" Black Canary asked, looking around at the small group.

"Not for another hour and a half." Batman said, bringing up a holographic screen and pointing at a dot moving south. "At the speed they're going, an hour tops."

Wonder Woman stepped forward at the information. "Then it would be best for us to make our way there also. Perhaps the remaining team will know more details of what has occurred."

"Sounds like a plan." Flash said, not waiting for the others as he raced to the zeta tube, the machine announcing his disappearnce as he left in a matter of seconds. For once it appeared Barry Alled would not be late to something.

The others followed his lead.

* * *

 **Mt. Justice**

 **July 20, 11:30 pm EDT**

Dick looked up at the sudden appearance of the newest arrival to their ever growing group in the large corrider. The atmosphere was thick with tension when the familiar ginger stalked up to the group, eyes narrowed and a large stain on his red shirt as he came to a stop beofe them and the door they all surrounded. It smelt distinctively like vomit.

Outside in the corridor Batman, Superman and the Flash stood together, obviously seperated from the other two teens with them who seemed to stand as far away as possible. Aqualad, and the two woman of the League were inside the closed room, attempting to help the private League medic when it can to emergencies and Arsenal looked up from his spot by Nightwing when his clone came into sight. Dick felt a headache making its way to him.

"Where is she?" Roy questioned simply, anger seeping through his words as he looked at the five males.

"She's in critical condition Roy." Flash answered, looking up at the younger hero before him. "None of us can go in."

Though that didn't seem to stop the archer from ignoring him as he threw a nasty glare it appeared as he made his way to the shut door. The dark opposing figure of batman stopped him as he stood before the slightly shorter hero. "Now isn't the time Roy."

"Save it Bruce." There was no containing Roy's anger at this point as he glared at the older man. "You're the one who hid the fact that she was alive the whole time. All of you did." His furiously blue eyes turned to Arsenal and Nightwing. "You knew about it too didn't you?"

"No we didn't Roy." Nightwing said and then found himself mumbling, "All three of us were out of the loop. Babs too if you count her."

Dick looked back at the twenty four year old as he stared at him before shifting back to the League Members. "What the fuck even happened then? Why the hell is Stella alive and why is she in critical condition?"

Nightwing wondered the same, the questions and theories in his mind whirling and crashing into one another. Ever since he had seen his childhood friend's face as she fell off the cliff and even to completing the mission as they gathered as many men over their shoulder and arms from the fight to get them away from the bombs they placed on the trucks as the blew up, his mind had been in turmoil. He hadn't even trusted himself to speak when they got to Mt. Justice, much less to Batman and the others when knowing they had known about her the whole time.

He had been the one after all to throw the finishing blow.

The dark haired teen had been silent even since then, preferring to keep his mouth shut like Arsenal until they finally got- demanded- answers. But not it seemed Roy wouldn't stand for such.

"It'll be best to explain the whole situation later with the others."

That seemed to rub Nightwing the wrong way. Dick's face tightened beneath the domino mask and he turned his head at his former mentor with a glare. He could punch something. He could. He could whirl around and raise his fist into the wall behind them and cause cracks to run across the wall like he had done so many times before, but he won't. His arms are stiff by his side, fingers curled into fists instead and he takes a deep breath as if to calm himself. "And when exactly is _later_ Batman?" He asked, hands clenching. "Stella's in there dying because of me! We deserve to know just what the hell is going on."

"Night-" Batman had begun, pausing only as Arsenal pushed past the two muttering.

"Forget this." The younger teen said, walking with a purpose to his stride. "If he's not going to say anything than I'll just get information from the dumbass who caused this mess."

Nightwing and Roy exchanged slight glances at one another, a silent understanding as the two do them followed after him.

This would not end good.

* * *

 **A/N: Short but it only took an hour to write and it's something to atleast keep you guys thinking and entertained for a bit hopefully. Please understand that this is an extra chapter, used for the purpose of simply giving other point of views that aren't specially important to the story line but show parts that may not have been mentioned or seen in the actual chapters. It's just for the fun if anything and these excepts in a way will be corresponding with the next chapter's events.**

 **I promise to get Chapter 3 up as soon as possible but I just wanted to post this as I'm not sure when I'll finish the chapter. I started if but its becoming a little hard as I'm trying to understand how the characters will react in the situations I'm throwing them in so just bare with me as next time EVERYTHING will be revealed. Or partly everything ;)**

 **Either way review as per usual as they help a lot! Thank you for the continued support!**


	4. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed you really make my day! Either way I'd like to point out that I made a few changes to the story, one very big one being that there is NO pairing in this fanfiction anymore. For now this will just be an Oc insert and** **since this is the first chapter that she is officially introduced in, please don't be too harsh as you won't really be able to get to know her until i continue writing, Either way I hope this chapter is somewhat interesting and that you didn't specifically expect what happened to Stella.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Two

The Truth

* * *

 **Mount Justice**

 **July 20, 11:46 pm EDT**

 _"When I go back to the past, I'm going to change things for the better. And that includes when I meet you." The ginger haired speedster said, looking distinctly at a older woman before him, resting in a wheelchair._

 _"Don't worry about it Bart. Just go back for your true objective and stop the Reach." A sad smile had crossed the older woman's face. "I'm content with how I am here."_

 _"Don't lie."_

 _"I'm not."_

Bart sat in the silent room with the rest of the team, a half hour already passing by despite it feeling longer to the young teen growing anxious with each passing second. They had just gotten back from the mission no longer than thirty minutes earlier to find five members of the League with team Gamma awaiting for their return. In a matter of moments, Stell had been rushed off to the medical room of the mountain, and they had been there ever since awaiting something while team Omega was still on their mission.

Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Black Canary had followed after her at that time, offering only a few words before leaving. Aqualad had followed soon after and Nightwing and Arsenal had refused to stay while they followed behind. Bart would've done the same, he would've liked to at the very least but he doubted he would be welcomed. He had, after all, put her into such a state. Confusion littered the team as they filled in Gamma on the mission, and only slight conversation went around as Bart ignored anything questioned to him.

Not that he was confused- he had known all of this would happen.

The silence hung restlessly in the air between the team and only a few times did one of them leave to either change or do something quickly before returning to the group. Bart's breath came out in steady beats and he can't help but think- think of the future and of the present- still in his Kid Flash suit and feeling like a fraud and the guilt of _everything_ weighing him down.

He had come for one purpose and one only- to stop the reach invasion. With to his credit he had done with help of the rest of the team.

The future would be better thanks to such. More of the people around him would be alive, or at least he hoped if nothing else happened while he was in the past. He liked to think nothing else happened, that he would be able to meet his grandfather in the future despite knowing he couldn't. Bart had known he couldn't do anything when it came to Barry, he was meant to die for the sake of someone he had also known in the future. And while it was selfish of him to pick over the two of them, the choice was obvious- after all it was either Barry who he had never met in the future or the other, Wally, who he had actually known.

He's not dumb after all. He is well aware of the amount of change he had already altered in his time due to such a small act. He would not risk tampering with the future for someone he had no connection to despite being family and the guilt he felt. He would however do such for someone he knew in his time.

And Stella he had had known. In his time they had been close and he couldn't help but take the risk to change something for her. In his head, sad violet eyes that he had seen too many times flashed before him and he knew that no matter how it changed the future, he would carry the burden. He just hoped it would affect it positively.

It's not like she would die from the blow like others might have. He had confidence in her abilities- not that they were always reliable he would admit considering her state in his time but nonetheless he didn't doubt her.

 _"Recognized: Red Arrow, B-0-6. Green Arrow, B-8."_

At the sound of the computer announcing the appearance of the hero duo, many of the faces in the room looked up curiously at the their arrival. Roy stepped out from the zeta tube first with Green Arrow following, the tension in both their backs obvious. For once, Roy had his well known domino mask off, startling blue eyes showing and civilian clothes noticeable. A stain was quite obvious on the archer's red shirt, which smelt quite bad, and Bart looked at him curiously. "What's that smell?" Garfield asked, the young green haired male seemingly having no filter no matter the situation.

"Baby vomit." Roy scoffed, making his way towards the medical wing without so much as a glance.

"Roy." Green Arrow called out as he followed after the ginger, attempting to rest a hand on his shoulder as the ex protege shrugged it off.

"Don't touch me Arrow." Roy said, pausing to turn. He glared at the older male, face sullen behind his domino mask, and in some corner of Bart's mind he can't help but feel the same at the situation. "You hid the fact that she was alive from us- all of you!"

Green Arrow's face stiffens under the black domino mask at the statement and it takes all of him from spilling everything. But he pauses instead, and watches as the young hero stalked his way out the room without a glance back. The team looked almost awkward at the sudden exchangement between the two men and Green Arrow looked around silently, sighing. Tim seemed to be the only one able to voice the question on everyone's mind. "Do you know if she- Belladonna- is alright?"

Green arrow only seemed to sigh more. "I'm not sure. When they contacted me they said she was bleeding out but stable- she's in a coma like state for the time being."

For a moment, Bart felt his chest clench painfully- she was in such a state because of him. He looked down guiltily at his clenched hands. "It's my fault."

The mentor looked at the time traveler thoughtfully. "Just what exactly happened? Batman said Aqualad and the other two filled him in but," He looked towards the direction of the medical wing as the sound of yelling voices echoed, "it's not going too well as you can guess."

"We didn't do anything wrong." Artemis said and the rest of the team agreed as Team Gamma stayed silent, listening also as they were not there. "The mission went according to plan and we got Belladonna out by faking her death."

"Yes and last I checked, she may very well be on death's door because of it." The blond haired man said, his mouth turned down. "She might-"

"Die?" Bart interjected, looking seriously at Green Arrow. It seemed almost out of character for the energetic ginger but they all knew there was more to it. "She won't- you should know that of all people."

It sounded as if he was telling himself that more than anyone else.

"Then what were you thinking when intercepting Nightwing's aim? It could have been worst." Green arrow said.

"That's for sure!" Arsenal's voice agreed, the ginger haired youth coming into the room with Nightwing and the other Roy following. He was making a beeline for the young speedster sitting down and when he was in front of Bart, grabbed hold of his suit and pulled him to his face. "Just what the hell were you thinking? She could've died!"

"Arsenal, put him down." Red Arrow said, moving forward slightly as the said male turned his head on him.

"Shut up! You shouldn't even be here!"

Roy bristled at the words, and even Bart knew Arsenal hit a sore spot. "I have every right to! I knew her too!"

"Both of you stop. This isn't doing anything to help." Nightwing said, grabbing hold of Arsenal and beginning to pry him off with the clone's help and others from the team. Superman, Batman, and Flash walked in just at that moment with Aqualad and they watched as they got the ginger off the teen.

Superboy let go of Arsenal, looking towards the mentors before them and crossing his arms. "Just what's going on?" He asked. "Who's Belladonna?"

"Someone who's supposed to be dead." Arsenal says snidely, glaring at the ground with arms crossed. No one around him said anything, but from Nightwing and Red Arrows narrowed eyes they seemed to agree.

Batman moved forward. "That's not-"

"Yes it is." Mal said stubbornly, "We're the ones who rescued her. We at least deserve to know who she is to understand what's going on."

"He's right." Static agreed, looking up from his spot on the couch to the team around him.

"We _all_ deserve to know." Nightwing had added, crossing his arms pointedly.

At the mention of such, the rest of the mentors looked to one another, as if questioning if they should. Bart looked between the four older males, taking in the looks on their faces before Batman looked back to the teens before him. The three older teens standing looked impatient.

"We had been planning on explaining all of this tomorrow after everything got settled down but it seems that's not possible at the moment." He looked slightly agitated at the fact, his gruff voice making its way throughout the room. "Her name is known as Stella Matutina, having gone by the alter ego of Belladonna for the past six years now since she had infiltrated the Light." He paused. "However you may know her better as the daughter of the hero Oleander who had been apart of the Justice League at a time."

"Oleander? The one who died?" Jaime asked, and the heroes looked even more disgruntled at the question.

Bart had heard of the man- in the textbooks of all the members of the Justice League and even more so from Stella. He wasn't the most well known of the League at the time when he had been around but that had been the point after all. Oleander or rather Abram Matutina had been considered the spy or rather secret agent of the team, having grown up as such in his home country of Russia, something they had not had in the textbooks but he had learned while listening to the said dark haired girl.

"Yes." Batman answered instead however bluntly and Bart couldn't help but think he suits the darkness like his armour. He suits it's cold and colorlessness. "She had meant to be his protege but he had passed when she was still too young. The league took over in his absence of her training. We took turns taking care of her, but she stayed the longest with me until she was about thirteen."

"Six year ago?" Cassie asked. "That's around the time she infiltrated the Light right?"

"And the same time you faked her death." Roy seemed to point out, still looking at the League members almost distrustfully.

Bart glanced up from his spot on the couch. "But her death wasn't faked, was it?"

There was a slight pause.

"No." Batman said, looking pointedly at Nightwing and the two Roy's at this point. "Stella had been killed on August 7th, 2011 just as you had seen. We could never fake such a thing."

"Then how-"

"She had been resurrected." Superman spoke at this point. "Through a Lazarus pit, she had been brought back to life by none other than the Light when they caught name of her."

M'gnn looked on curiously at the mention of the name. "What's a Lazarus pit?"

"They're naturally occurring pits throughout the world, limited to five at the moment to our current knowledge." Flash answered. "They possess restorative properties and the Light is known for having it, due to Ra al Ghul who owns one. One of its distinct properties is known for giving eternal life and at time, restoring and resurrecting the dead- something they used when it came to Stella."

"Apparently, the Organization resurrected Stella and used her at her weakest state as a puppet. It wasn't until a year later that we met her once again while she had been put on a mission for a week to gain intel on us." He looked at Ollie. "Green Arrow had captured her after some difficulty and brought her in for Martian Manhunter to interrogate her. But by that time, she wasn't the same."

"What do you mean by that?" Nightwing asked, looking at the League members.

Green Arrow answered at this time. "She had lost all her memories of everything- of all of us. You could only imagine the psychological effects of being brought back to life and the toll it has on a person. By the time we had found her she had been brainwashed to the Light's command and she- she had already finished off her first targets."

"We knew we had a short amount of time, given the fact that it was only five days left to her mission. And we had Martian Manhunter enter her mind immediately." Superman said. "However it was worst that we had anticipated- her memories had been broken down and fragmented. It had taken up to two days to restore them and even by that time they still weren't complete. There was also the possibility of her having gone mad, a well known side effect when thrown in the pit. The rest of the days we took gaining her trust and helping her the best we could."

"And in the end you let her go back?" Arsenal snarled sharply, the slightest bit of anger slipping out. He didn't look away from the mentors and even Bart felt the slightest bit bemused hearing the story more in detail.

"There was no other cho-"

"You're the Justice League!" Lagann had pointed out, looking sourly displeased at the story. "Neptune's Beard! You could've protected her."

At this they were all quiet until Batman opened his mouth. "It was our only chance to gain intel on the organization. Normally we would have never allowed someone her age to go undercover into the enemy's nest but she was the best candidate. Understand that when Stella had been resurrected, more than just her memories changed as you can tell." Bart thought back to her eye color. "But along with those factors she had gained an unusually fast rate of regeneration that we had never seen before. While it was not the most effective, some fatal wounds for others were only minor for her as they healed easily."

"And even despite this she had already infiltrated the Light for that year she had been there in hindsight. It was our only opportunity- we would never get another like such so we had grabbed it. With the right precautionary measures and our meetings with her whenever she could get away, we made sure she was safe. She was safe."

"And what about now?" Artemis asked, eyebrows shooting up. "Is she safe?"

"The Light will believe Belladonna had died during the mission when fighting Nightwing." Superman looked at the said person. "No one could survive such a fall from the cliff and they will believe her body had washed away when they can't find it."

"You had better hope." Nightwing tells them coolly.

"We know so."

The sentence hung silently in the air, and Bart can tell that everyone's anxiousness does nothing to help it. This however does nothing to cease Arsenal and Roy, who one in two people don't look convinced, eyes narrowed at the League members before them. Nightwing looks torn, perhaps between wanting to understand more or attacking his mentor for having withheld such things for him. For Bart, he just wants to see Stella- make sure she's okay and to lessen the guilt that only continues growing with every passing moment.

Mal looked at the said speedster almost curiously. "And just how does Bart fit into all this?"

"That's what we would all like to know I believe." Kaldur answered, glancing at the said boy. His light eyes don't look at all judging, like Arsenal or Roy's who are both drilling into him and he supposes he in a way understands him. After all- the Atlantean had lied to one of his closest friends over something Bart was positive he knew was important to Nightwing.

Panic flared in Bart like a sudden firework going off, setting his body alight and making him suddenly aware of the attention on him. He wavered for a moment, and he suddenly found himself at a lost for words. How much more damage could- would- he do to the time stream?

"Uh, I'm not sure if I should say anything else to be honest." The speedster said hesitantly, green eyes looking around anywhere but at the faces around him. "It could mess up the time steam even more and after that we're all feeling the mode."

"I think it's a little too late for that considering you already tampered with it." Superboy points out with a raised eyebrow, and Bart could practically hear the incredulous tone in it.

Bart smiled sadly now at the mention of such, and he feels a sense of inexplicable guilt shoot through him like a rush, and he's not sure how much he's felt like such tonight. "I know I shouldn't have tampered with the time stream. But you don't understand what happens in the future. I-" He begins, mumbling and stumbling. "Stella, we knew each other in my time, and while I had only came to the past to help repair the future, when it came to her I couldn't help it. I had come to fix the future and this was apart of doing so for me."

"You mean nearly killing her?" Roy- Red Arrow- inquires, growling.

"I mean nearly saving her."

"What do you mean by that Bart?" Flash asked, eyeing his _grandson_ , which feels incredibly weird saying considering his own son is not born yet. He's never seen the teen look such a way and for a second he's worried because he's not the best with kids like Iris and isn't sure whether to hug him or just listen as he pours his heart out.

"I owe her. She's been through alot with me in the future and you can't imagine how hard it's been for her while we were invaded and-" He paused before he let his mouth run off too much.

"And what Bart?"

 _And all of you- her close friends died_. But he couldn't bring himself to say it, not to admit the truth and to have all of them worrying and questioning. "Sorry spoilers. But what I'm trying to get at is that tonight's mission had damaged her way more than anticipated when Nightwing threw his Wing Ding at her- it damaged her spin and made her crippled."

"What about her regenerative abilities?" Robin questioned, looking all the more curious. It reminds Bart of the fact that this is probably all confusing and that he's not doing the best job at explaining it properly like he should- like he knows he can.

"They make her heal faster- not invincible to every type of infliction. The angle Nightwing had imbedded it in her spine took away her ability to walk." Another reason to remember that her abilities weren't always invincible- she could very die today. "It was by accident of course, he aimed there of all places to help lessen the fatality- he had no idea it would affect her in such a way. But in the future, she can't walk at all and has to use a wheelchair to get around- and I knew it was torture for her. And because of it, I wanted change it."

He can't help but look up at Nightwing when he mentions such and he's not surprised to see him looking almost stunned, back stiff and mouth taut. Dick looked sullen, looking remorseful and guilty more than he had already been feeling and Bart looks away because the dark haired teen is blaming himself for tonight when it's the speedster's fault. And now to top it off he has an alternate future where he injured Stella in more than one way slightly worst and he looks so remorseless that Bart can't stand to look any longer because he's not sure what he'll do.

He looked down. "I had to change her future. So I took the risk."

She had been one of the only ones left from the group alive- not because she had somehow managed to make it. But because she had no choice. In the future she had given up her mantle due to her handicap and now that such didn't exist he wasn't exactly sure what would happen. He had changed the future either for the better or worse and there was no going back. That much he knew for certain.

"Batman." The said hero looked at the future speedster who had called his name- looking at the pointedly hard eyes trained on him. "Tell them the rest about Stella- everything."

* * *

 **Mount Justice**

 **July 23, 11:37 am EDT**

Stella Matutina.

That was her full name, named by both her mother and father when she had been born, Matutina meaning _morning_ and Stella translated to _star._ Together, her name meant the _Morning Star,_ having worked considering that she had been born when the last star of the morning had still been in the sky before it disappeared.

She had been born in Russia, her parent's birthplace and they had brought her back to America, where her father had lived an ordinary life by day as much he possible could and the life of a hero at night. Her mom had died when she had been the age of three and between his alter ego and his job to support the both of them, she did not get much time with him. And when did, they had trained and bonded, spending as much time together as possible- not that she grew up as a normal girl. Having a hero father made nothing normal for her.

At one point he had even considered training her to become his sidekick, having already taught her more than the basics. Batman, or rather Bruce, had just recently gotten a sidekick at the time, Robin the Boy Wonder and he hadn't gotten hurt yet- well too hurt that is. But by that time, he had died, gotten killed in the line of duty and Bruce Wayne, his close friend, and the rest of the League took turns taking care of her.

Or at least that's what they had told her from when the League had first found her again after her _death_ and tried restoring her memories.

However, from that time, things got blurry. She still had the memories but they were broken, all rearranged and in different orders, some clearer than the others despite all the years she had gotten to attempt recovering them. Names were mixed, and so were faces to the point she had memories of people she had known but couldn't remember.

And it didn't help that even after her supposed resurrection the Light had continued tampering with her memories even more. Her time with the organization at times were blurry in itself and it was difficult completing her mission because of such- after all how could she gain intel when they ended up making her forget it at times. It was rarely they messed with her head- happening only during harsh punishments when she did something they really didn't like. Her mission other than that had been relatively simple.

While she had forgotten a lot of things, she had also chosen to do so purposefully, such like the bad ones that traumatized her.

Ones like her death.

And while passed out, they played behind her eyes and she was filled with night terrors for the rest of the time that she was under. She knew she had gotten hurt- badly might she add and knew that even with her abilities it would take a good amount of time to heal.

Throughout the time, she had been in and out of the coma like state at times, hearing bits of conversations around her or coming to nothing but silence when she managed to wake up before she was pulled under. Like a wave pulling her down and having no way to make it to the top once again.

 _"You lied to us!" The voice sounded familiar but she wasn't sure. "He could've killed her!"_

 _"But he didn't." She knew that voice for sure. "We knew of the consequences along of the probability of the mission going wrong. She's stable and we took that risk given her abilities to regenerate."_

 _"We deserved to have known." This one was a different voice, distinctly male like the others and sounded as if it was withholding its anger- or at least trying too._

 _There was a slight pause. "You wouldn't have carried out the mission if we had told you."_

 _"I don't give a shit about the mission!"_

 _"And you would have preferred to let her stay under the Light and continue infiltrating it?"_

 _There was a pause. Words became blurred to girl by that time and she could feel herself being pulled under again. There was no fighting it, and before she knew it everything around her was black._

The next few times she managed to come to light, there was only a small amount of interaction around her. Sometimes there were the same male voices from before or there were a few female new ones. She always managed to recognize the League's voices, which was often as she supposed they came to visit as much as they could.

Prying open her eyes, Stella winced ever so slightly as she shifted in the bed, the dull throbbing of her wound slightly noticeable. She took notice of her surroundings, taking in the white around her as she sat up ever so slightly. It appeared as though she was in a seemingly normal room in a hospital but she quickly dismissed the idea. The League would- should- have her by now just as according to plan. She was safe- out of the clutches of the Light where she was their personal puppet.

In front and to the side of her bed were two figures. A ginger sat in the chair closest to her left, closed eyes hidden from her view and a buzz cut making him appear younger to her. At the foot of her bed, in front of her was a male around her age, loose dark hair falling into his glasses clad eyes as his chest fell with each slow breath he took. She rose an eyebrow at the sight of his sun glasses despite being indoors and faintly in her mind she had a feeling she should be used to it by now. Dismissing the thought, her eyes slid past the dark haired teen and onto the clock on the wall. Nine fifty- five it said- had the two been there the whole night?

Frowning at the thought, she glanced back at the two figures, nostalgia filling her chest as her mind raced. Faces appeared- ones she couldn't place- and she felt her head hurt. She knew them, that much she was sure of. At Least before everything else happened.

Turning at the sound of a door sliding open, Stella glanced at yet another face- familiar now that memories began surfacing- and glanced at the other one sleeping to her left and back at the new face. Blinking, violet and blue clashed as the dark haired girl looked on wide eyed at the ginger and back to the similar looking male sleeping. He was younger compared to the one who just arrived, that much she could tell and she rose an eyebrow. A younger brother? No, even if she couldn't remember that didn't sound right. Glancing at the older male, he seemed just as shocked, taking in his pretty childhood friend awake, three mugs of coffee in his hands.

"Stella?" The ginger questioned, stepping further into the room as the door slid shut behind him. He seemed almost awkward, though Stella supposed he wasn't exactly expecting her to be up. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." For a moment she paused at the croaking sound her throat made, and then as a second thought added, "I suppose. What happened?"

The male seemed to be taking the situation rather well, nonetheless almost hesitant like walking on eggshells. "The team accomplished the mission. They got you out and the Light should believe you're dead due to the performance when you fell. But there had been a-" He paused, as if thinking over his next words while placing down the mugs on the table near her, "- an unexpected situation with one of the members of the team. Your wound ended up being more fatal than anticipated due to his intervention." Though he supposed it was better than her losing the use of her legs. At the very least she was alive.

"How long was I out?" Stella questioned, feeling all the more disoriented as she found out more.

"Three days." The archer took a gulp of his coffee and it was only then that Stella saw how tired he looked. In her mind flashed hints and pieces of that night, of her back to Nightwing just as she had turned to see a yellow blur barrel into him. After that, she couldn't remember much. Though she wasn't sure if she remembered the male being apart of the mission that night.

She looked up at him. "Were you there for the mission?"

"No." He shook his head almost forlornly. "I didn't find out till after the mission what had happened. Hell I didn't even know you were alive Stella."

That seemed to hit the amnesiatic girl like a bolt of lightning. Violet eyes shot up to look at the male's blue eyes and she felt the same feeling of nostalgia from before begin to enter her- the same feeling she always got when she was around Batman. Yet nothing- no name accept a younger and blank face popped up to her. She frowned, taking a deep breath. "We knew each other before right? Before I- died?"

For a moment, silence was Stella's only answer as the ginger haired male looked at her with wide eyes. Confusion filtered the blue depths and Stella felt herself shifting inside at the emotion in them. And then, "That's right." He said, sounding distinctly upset- sad even as she looked into his eyes. "You probably wouldn't remember me- us- given the situation."

In front of her, the scenery began to change- the man in front of her was younger now, around the age of the one still sleeping. He was showing her something, an offensive attack as he punched in the air and then it changed again and instead this time it was of him showing her how to shoot an arrow. Blinking, she was met once again with the same ginger, looking down at her with a worried glint. Stella frowned, her head hurting. "I know you." The man's head snapped up so fast she was scared he would get whiplash. "Just not your face persay. Everything's hazy and I don't have all my memories completely."

"No, I understand." Sitting down on another chair she hadn't noticed to her right, his blue eyes met her violet ones as he held out a large hand- an archer's hand. "I'm Roy- Roy Harper. You probably don't remember me too well but we were childhood friends. You might remember calling me Speedy?"

She didn't remember such but she nodded either way grabbing his hand to shake it. "You're Red Arrow, right?"

Roy seemed slightly surprised. "Yeah, that's me but I prefer Roy."

"Roy." She smiled slightly, a sudden warmth filling her as her eyes slid to the sleeping doppleganger on her left. "Is he your brother?"

"Uh, no." Roy said, suddenly awkward at the question. "It's-"

A groan interrupted the statement from slipping Roy's mouth. The dark haired male was beginning to awaken, his sunglasses slightly crooked on his handsome face as he stretched. "I smell coffee." He muttered, sitting up straighter as he seemed to take notice of his surroundings, not that she could tell with his glasses. He looked straight at the girl, perking up suddenly as if pinched. "Stella!" He rose suddenly as if panicked, making his way to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Stella blinked at the unfamiliar yet familiar face and smiled. "Don't worry about me."

"You sound just like you were when you were younger." The male snorted, muttering slightly as he glanced at Arsenal and nudged him. The younger ginger woke up with a start, and he looked around almost fearfully before relaxing and resting his eyes on Stella. "Since when were you up?"

"Good to see you too Roy 2." She smirked.

"I'm actually the first. That one over there is the fake." There was a certain stiffness to his voice as his eyes turned to the doppleganger, blue eyes clashing. She took notice that despite the similarities, there were a few distinct characteristics when compared together. The first Roy- the one who had walked in with the coffee- was like what she remember him to be with thick ginger hair and a lithe yet buff build, seemingly a little more so considering the years that had passed she supposed. However, the other one seemed younger, in his midteens, with a slighter build and a buzz cut, a distinctive metallic arm obvious to her watchful eyes.

Definitely not brothers- too similar to be such.

"So then why exactly are there two of you?" Stella couldn't help her curiosity.

"It's a long story." Roy, Red Arrow, said not looking at her. "Just call me Arrow to tell us apart."

"I go by Arsenal."

"But you're both Roy?"

There was a slight pause but it was the still unknown dark haired teen that answered instead. "Technically, yes." He said, though as if careful about his words. She looked towards him, putting together his characteristics with a certain hero. For a moment, a younger and shorted version of himself appeared before her, donning a familiar red, green, and yellow suit just before she blinked and it was gone.

"You're Nightwing?" She asked, wrapping her head around the memories entering and slipping from her grasp.

He looked slightly sad at the question. "Yeah but you know me- used to know me- as Dick."

She laughed. "I probably had a field day with that name."

Dick cracked a smile though even to Stella it looked forced. "The first five minutes you met me you made fun of it."

"Sounds like something I would do." Stella was grimacing by now, a dry grin making its way to her face as more memories flooded her vision. She winced slightly.

"You okay?" Red Arrow asked, pausing as he began handing the coffee out.

"I'm fine." She grinned slightly. "Just a small headache. I've had worst."

A fleeting memory of excruciating pain in her head came and went, and she looked around, hoping to change the topic. "Do I smell food?"

Roy nodded, taking a gulp of the coffee in his hands. "Yeah. M'gnn is cooking breakfast with others. I can get you some if you want."

"It's okay." She said declining, throwing the dull white sheets off her figure. "I'll go get some myself."

"Stel, that's not a good idea." The said girl winced at the familiarity of the nickname that Nightwing used. She couldn't even remember him properly when he had years worth of memories. "It's only been three days, you need rest."

"I heal faster than usual Nightwing." The violet eyed girl seemed to point out.

"Dick." Stella paused at the sudden tone of the male. "Call me Dick."

"Dick." She frowned. "Either way I'm fine." To prove her point, she sat up, ignoring the slight pain- it could have been worst if she had been anyone else so she saw no use in complaining. "See?"

"Stella he's right-"

"Don't treat her like a child." Arsenal interrupted, eyes narrowed at the two other males before him. "She doesn't even remember us so leave her. If she says she's fine then she is."

Stella took note that he sounded like he was saying such from experience.

"Oh and you would know wouldn't you?" The other Roy said, narrowing his eyes at the original.

"Trust me. " The younger ginger said, crossing his arms as he began to put on a mask strapped to his waist. Eyes covered, the white part of his eyes narrowed. "I would know."

Looking as if he would interrupt, Dick paused only as the door behind him slid open, a familiar figure causing Stella to relax. "Batman." She greeted, sounding almost pleased.

The said hero didn't seem to voice the same contentment, a frown marring the bottom half of his face. "You shouldn't be up."

"It's been three days." Stella swung her feet over the bed just as Roy and Dick protested. "I'll be fine enough to at least stretch my legs."

"Stella." Batman said in a warning tone as Stella smirked. Putting her bare feet on the cold tiles beneath her, the dark haired seventeen year old stood up, ignoring Red Arrow's offered hand and grinning pointedly in triumph.

Besides the dark vigilante should have known by now that she was a flower just like she had chosen for her name- and a flower couldn't grow if it were caged in.

Behind her, even Arsenal cracked the slightest of grins.

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 **A/N: And its finally done guys! Im not sure how the reaction to this will be but I can only hope that you guys like it. Either way the storyline should move smoothly after this chapter as I already have a good amount of it planned out and Im excited about it.**

 **Please Review and Favorite. Reviews especially give me more motivation to continue writing. Thank you!**


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